If it were possible to give this book zero stars, I would. Although the premise behind it is interesting and novel enough- looking at the troubled marginalized youth in London's inner city from their own perspective - the execution was atrocious. I can't recall the last time I skipped through so many pages of a book.
The idea of the eleven year old as narrator works for the first few pages. Then, as 'yout speak' does, it just starts to grate on you. What I found ironic was that the book received such praise for being 'a realistic portrayal' .....of who or what I thought. While I don't doubt that Kelman did his research, I still believe both he and those writing in praise of the book, give him far more credit than he deserves.
I felt no more empathy for these troubled inner city kids with nicknames like Killa and X-Fire than I did before reading the book. Kelman also misses the mark with the main character. There are times when Harri says things that are completely out of character for an 11 year old- at times he sounds like the grown man writing the story or like a 5 year old child who's endearing but whose train of thoughts is all over the place. The narrative sounded too often like an adult trying to imitate a child.
The book's ending and link to certain social issues made it seem far more important and interesting than it was. Some readers said they found the book disturbing but then what? Being disturbed by an issue doesn't propel us to action so rather than show us something we don't already know, Kelman is yet another observer of what David Cameron et al term 'broken Britain' My verdict- Great concept, poor execution.
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